The present disclosure relates to a lawn-care apparatus, and in particular to an improved battery-compartment arranged for a lawn-care apparatus.
Many battery powered lawn-care apparatuses, for example lawnmowers, employ removable batteries which are insertable by lowering them into a downwardly-inclined (vertical or sloped) battery-compartment. Battery compartments of this type typically include an openable cover to protect the battery compartment and its contents, e.g. from rain.
Problems associated with such devices include difficulty in loading/unloading the battery due to the placement and orientation of the battery-compartment, and a loss of balance of the law-care device owing to the location of the battery.
Whilst a vertical-loading battery may initially be easy to install since the installation is aided by gravity, they can be difficult to remove from the lawn-care apparatus due to the weight and downward orientation of the battery. The end user must remove the battery from the lawn-care apparatus by lifting the battery with his or her fingers, sometimes also by pinching the side of the battery. This can be uncomfortable and awkward for the end user to lift such a weight from the lawn-care apparatus.
Typically, such battery-compartments are provided with an openable cover to protect the battery-compartment and battery from exposure. However, these covers are frequently self-closing, under either gravity or spring-assisted, and the end user is therefore often forced to use one hand to hold open the battery-compartment cover, thus only one remaining hand is available for removal of the battery.
Lawn-care apparatus known in the art also employ mid-mounted or rear-mounted battery-compartments for mid-mounted or rear-mounted batteries. As the grass box of the lawn-care apparatus is filled with grass clippings, the centre of gravity of the apparatus is shifted significantly towards the rear of the device (with respect to the normal operating direction of the apparatus). Mid-mounted or rear-mounted batteries only compound this problem by being located towards the rear of the apparatus, thus the front of the apparatus is more likely to lift from the ground when in use, and fail to engage the lawn properly causing an uneven cut and possibly lawn damage. Typically, extra ballast must be installed at the front of the lawn-care apparatus to address this problem.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved battery-compartment arrangement.